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Indian River State College marks 50 years

Next year, Fort Pierce-based Indian River State College marks its 50th year of serving the Treasure Coast. Indian River Junior College’s first classes were Sept. 6, 1960.

But it was a half century ago this week, Oct. 27, 1959, that the state legislature approved Indian River Junior College.

That’s notable because, with “separate but equal” education in full force, lawmakers simultaneously created Lincoln Junior College, to serve blacks.

According to African American Sites in Florida, by Kevin McCarthy, Lincoln Park Academy opened in 1923 as a junior high and was accredited in 1928 as one of only four schools for blacks in Florida.

For years, it was the only school for blacks from West Palm Beach to Titusville.

Indian River started in temporary structures, then moved to its main campus.

Lincoln operated on the campus of Lincoln Park Academy from 1960 until 1963, when it moved to new buildings next door. At the time, it was one of 12 black junior colleges in Florida.

In April 1965, forced to comply with the 1964 U.S. Civil Rights act, the St. Lucie County school board ordered the two combined.

To pressure the county to desegregate, McCarthy says, the state had applied accreditation standards so rigidly that the county would have had to pour money into Lincoln to meet them.

Indian River Junior College initially continued to hold classes at the two campuses.

But by August 1965, with only 810 students registered at the former Lincoln site, those classes would merge into the main campus and the Lincoln site would be used as a night school.

Five years later, the entity was renamed Indian River Community College.

In July 2008, now offering four-year degrees, it became Indian River State College.

Today, the school hosts 12,000 students on campuses in Fort Pierce, Okeechobee, Port St. Lucie, Stuart and Vero Beach.

Indian River State College: (866) 792-4772. Web page: http://www.irsc.edu
Photo courtesy Indian River State College
This undated photo shows an office at Indian River Junior College in Fort Pierce. The college opened in 1959 as an all-white institution. In keeping with the ‘separate but equal’ education policy in force at the time, Lincoln Junior College opened simultaneously to serve blacks. The two merged in 1965 to comply with the U.S. Civil Rights Act of 1964.

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